McClain Cellars

MCCLAIN CELLARS: 5 STAR LUXURY WINE TASTING BLENDS INTO BUELLTON

McClain Cellars, which built its first tasting room in Laguna Beach in early 2019, has opened a new location in Buellton, near Solvang. Perfect for these days of social distancing, the new outlet includes a 5,000-square-foot “outdoor adult playground,” with sofas, cornhole, and other amusements — including McClain’s killer artisan vegan popcorn — to go with exquisite blended wines.

PROPRIETOR AND MASTER BLENDER Jason McClain rode the initial dotcom wave. He got rich quick, lost it all, learned some hard lessons, recovered and went on to build and sell fourteen companies during his years as a tech entrepreneur.

A few years ago, he walked away from a lucrative second career as a motivational speaker to make wine, a passion he and his wife, Sofia, had developed during deep-dive wine-tasting getaways around California.

When they decided to open McClain Cellars, they chose the Santa Ynez Valley. “Because the valley gets so hot in the day and so cold at night, you get richer, juicier grapes that release more flavor and tannins than you can get in almost any other California locale,” Jason says.

In blending, McClain likes to add an unexpected grape to a famous varietal to make “a wine you can’t get anywhere else.”

He identifies with wine lovers who go tasting “hoping to find the hidden gem,” and he wants to provide those gems, along with what he describes as “a significant emotional experience. The winery is not just about the wine. It’s about behind what’s behind the bottle.”

Look at any bottle of McClain wine, and you’ll see what he’s talking about. “F4” appears on each one, a reminder of what matters most to him: faith, family, friends and freedom. Each blend also has its own name reflecting a significant event in McClain’s life, and a label made from a commissioned painting that reflects it. The summer blend of Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Loureiro is called “Summer Breeze,” after the Isley Brothers song that was playing the first time he fell in love. “Sacred Love” Cabernet Sauvignon honors Sofia. “Hope and Faith” Petite Sirah recalls what it took to get up again after failing early in his career.

“Life Saver,” a wholly unusual blend of seventy-five percent Tempranillo and twenty-five percent Petite Sirah is indicative of McClain’s approach. “Nobody ever puts those together,” he says, “but it changes your palate, so that we’re not just comparing Tempranillo to Tempranillo. It’s Tempranillo with whatever makes it taste great.”

With multiple 90+ scores from the first few vintages, the proof of his approach is in the bottle. And with a limited production of three thousand cases, you’ll need to get to the tasting room or join the wine club to score.

F4 appears on each bottle, a reminder of what matters most to Jason: faith, family, friends and freedom.